12-minute walk/run test – to assess cardiovascular capacity

A test to indicate your cardiovascular fitness

Kenneth Cooper – the man credited for inventing ‘aerobics’ – developed his ‘Cooper Test’ way back, but it’s still widely used as a measure of cardiovascular fitness. The test is mainly designed for running exercise – but you can walk it if necessary.

The important thing is to maintain a steady pace, rather than go hell for leather for three minutes and then crawl for the remaining nine. Cooper’s results are based on a mixed gender sample of thousands of people.

How to do this exercise

Use a flat, measurable route (an athletics track is ideal) or a treadmill. After a five-minute warm-up, set a stopwatch and run or walk at as fast a pace as you can sustain for the duration of the test. Record the distance and compare it to the values below.